Ryoseiji Temple

Ryoseiji Temple, which belongs to the Jodo Sect of Buddhism, is the family temple of Ginchiyo, the wife of Tachibana Muneshige, the first lord of the Yanagawa Domain. The temple was built in 1621, and the name is derived from Ginchiyo’s posthumous name. It was established by Oyo, the fourth abbot of Raikoiji Temple, which is located in the Setakamachi Kaminosho neighborhood in what is now Miyama City. In 1575, when Ginchiyo was just seven years old, her father Bekki Dosetsu bequeathed Tachibana Castle in Chikuzen Province to her. She came to Yanagawa when she married Takahashi Shigetane’s son Munetora (who later became Tachibana Muneshige); however, sources say she took up residence in a villa in Miyanaga to the south of the castle, and this later became known as the Miyanaga Villa. Because Muneshige supported the losing Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he was stripped of his title and holdings. Ginchiyo was put under the protection of Kato Kiyomasa and moved to the village of Haraka in Higo (now Nagasu Town in Kumamoto). Ginchiyo passed away there in 1602. In 1620 Tachibana Muneshige returned to Yanagawa, and the following year, he erected Ryoseiji Temple, taking the name from the posthumous name of Ginchiyo. Ginchiyo’s grave was transferred to Ryoseiji Temple in 1634, the year marking the 33rd anniversary of her death. The Tachibana family mausoleum at Ryoseiji Temple is also where Sadaakira, the fifth son of Tachibana Tadashige (the second lord of the domain), and Matsukohime, the wife of Sadayoshi (the fifth lord of the domain) are enshrined.